The Muzio Clementi Tradition Piano Traditions Through Their Genealogy Trees

© 2021, by Daniel Pereira Doctor of Musical Arts | www.daniel-pereira.com Biographies1

Abos, Girolamo

Maltese

Valetta, November 16, 1715 — Naples, October 1760

Of French descent, he studied at the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù in Naples

under Greco, Durante and Ferrara. Subsequently, he taught there and at the San

Onofrio Capuana Conservatory, and became secondo maestro at the Pietà dei

Turchini Conservatory in 1754. He mainly composed operas buffas and serias.

Adam, Louis

French

Muttersholtz, Bas-Rhin, December 3, 1758 — Paris, April 8, 1848

Louis Adam was a composer and teacher. He taught at the Paris Conservatory

from 1797 to 1842. Among his pupils were Frédéric Kalkbrenner and Ferdinand

Hérold. He devised two educational methods for the piano: the Principe général

du doigte pour le forte-piano and a Méthode du piano du Conservatoire. Adam

composed several piano sonatas and other smaller works.

[See the Louis Adam Tradition]

Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel

German

Weimar, March 8, 1714 — Hamburg, December 14, 1788

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was a composer and keyboard player. He was one of

the most important composers of the second half of the 18th century and was

particularly admired for his keyboard works. He also studied law. C.P.E. Bach´s

teacher was his father, Johann Sebastian Bach. His Essay on the True Art of

Playing the Keyboard Instruments, published in two parts in 1753 and 1762,

respectively, was to become one of the most influential treatises for many years

and the first one to refer specifically to the pianoforte as a separate and distinct

instrument. Both Haydn and Beethoven knew it and used it in their teaching.

C.P.E. Bach also composed chamber, orchestral and vocal music.

[See the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Tradition]

1 Names appear alphabetically ordered.

Balakirev, Mily

Russian

Nizhniy Novgorod, January 2, 1837 — Saint Petersburg, May 29, 1910

Balakirev was a pianist, composer, conductor and teacher. He was a prominent

figure in the second half of the 19th century in Russia, and particularly influenced

the group known as the Mighty Five, or the Balakirev´s circle, formed by Borodin,

Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky and Cui. In 1867, Balakirev was appointed

conductor of the Russian Musical Society concerts in Saint Petersburg. In the early

1870s, he begun to suffer a personal crisis which led to a decline in his musical

activities. In order to find solace, he became a strict follower of the Orthodox

church. Subsequently, he worked as a clerk for a railway company. As a

composer, Balakirev was greatly influenced by Chopin, Liszt and by Russian folk.

music. Examples of his oeuvre are the piano concertos in F sharp minor and in E

flat, and a series of nocturnes, waltzes, mazurkas, scherzos, sonatas and the

Berceuse. Balakirev´s most famous piano composition is Islamey, dedicated to

Nikolay Rubinstein, who also premiered it.

Baroni, Antonio

Italian

Rome, 1738 — Rome, December 21, 1792

A relative of Clementi, whom he also taught, he studied in Bologna under Martini

and in Naples under Abos and Fago. He produced operas in Venice, Prague,

Stuttgart and Rome. Baroni was appointed Kapellmeister in Stuttgart in 1771 and

maestro di capella at Saint Peter in Rome in 1777.

Beethoven, Ludwig van

German

Bonn, baptized December 17, 1770 — Vienna, March 26, 1827

One of the most influential, admired and popular figures in music history,

Beethoven was a great pianist and improviser, and a visionary composer who

transcended the limits of the piano, particularly after the illness, which isolated

him —deafness— worsened. He described the state of his despairing soul in the

famous Heiligenstadt Testament of 1802, addressed to his brother Johann and

Carl. He had Belgian ancestry and came from three generations of musicians who

worked for the Electorate of Cologne. Beethoven settled in Vienna in 1792, where

he received lessons from Haydn and likely from Mozart and became a highly

respected composer in the Austrian capital. Beethoven´s piano output is crowned

by the 32 piano sonatas, the 5 piano concertos, and the Diabelli variations, all of

which are masterpieces of the piano literature.

[See the Ludwig van Beethoven Tradition]

Benser, John Daniel

German

? — ?London, December 3, 1785

John Daniel Benser was a pianist and composer. He developed his career in

England, where he travelled likely upon Johann Christian´s Bach

recommendation. He John Baptist Cramer´s first teacher. In 1772, Benser became

a member of the Royal Society of Musicians. He produced a few simple piano

compositions and was one of the first composers to favor the new pianoforte. His

works include the Sonatas op. 1, in which Benser added some remarks about the

differences between the harpsichord and the piano. He also produced

programmatic pieces such as The Battle and The Storm, which precluded similar

pieces by Steibelt.

Berger, Ludwig

German

Berlin, April 18, 1777 — Berlin, February 16, 1839

Ludwig Berger was a composer, pianist and teacher. He accompanied Muzio

Clementi in his travels to Russia and remained in Saint Petersburg for eight years.

In 1812, Berger fled to London and, three years after, he moved back to Berlin. In

1817, he suffered a nervous dysfunction in his arm and was forced to abandon the

concert stage. He was a late representative of the Berlin Song School. Berger

wrote a Piano Concerto, seven sonatas, etudes, variations and a number of

pedagogical piano works. He directly influenced his pupil Mendelssohn´s Lieder

ohne worte.

[See the Ludwig Berger Tradition]

Bertini, Benoît-Auguste

French

Lyons, June 5, 1780 — London, June 25, 1856

Bertini was a composer and pianist. He was the son of a church musician and

composer and lived in London, Paris, Naples, Amsterdam and Brussels. Bertini

made the acquaintance of Haydn, who was the dedicatee of the Three Grand

Sonatas op. 1 and studied with Clementi for a few years. Bertini´s compositions

include the One-fingered Waltz and the 36 Grand Fantasias for piano. He

invented a device to make the wrist more flexible and published Bertini’s Self-

Teaching Catechism of Music for the Piano Forte and the New System for

Learning and Acquiring Extraordinary Facility on all Musical Instruments. He

was the half-brother and teacher of Henri Bertini.

Bertini, Henri-Jérôme

French

London, October 28, 1798 — Meylan, September 30, 1876

Henri-Jérôme Bertini was a pianist and composer. He studied with his father and

with his half-brother Auguste Bertini. At the age of thirteen, he concertized in

Belgium, Holland and Germany, and lived in London, Scotland and Paris. He

produced a surprising number of compositions for the piano including rondos,

fantasias, variations and études.

Blahetka, Anne Marie Leopoldine

Austrian

Guntramsdorf, near Vienna, November 15, 1809 — Boulogne-sur-Mer, January 17,

1885

Leopoldine Blahetka was a pianist and composer. She was one of the most

influential and successful women composers in the 19th century and contributed

to elevate the role of the professional female musician in society. Upon

Beethoven´s recommendation, she studied with Joseph Czerny. Blahetka

performed with Paganini in 1828 in Vienna and concertized extensively in Europe

until 1833, when she settled in the south of France and devoted herself to teaching

and composition. Among her over 60 published works, we find works for piano

and orchestra including the Variations brillantes op. 4, and solo piano pieces such

as the Polonaise op. 19, Capriccio op. 48, Nocturne op. 62 and several collections

of waltzes.

Boëly, Alexandre Pierre François

French

Versailles, April 19, 1785 — Paris, December 27, 1858

An underrated but important composer in France during his time, Boëly entered

the Paris Conservatory when he was 11, studying violin besides the piano. In

Paris, he had a selected group of friends including pianists Marie Bigot, Frédéric

Kalkbrenner, John Baptist Cramer and violinist Pierre Baillot. Boëly´s oeuvre

includes numerous piano works which show the evolution of the piano as an

instrument. He was an accomplished organist and was one of the first to advocate

J.S. Bach´s works in France.

Brzezińska-Szymanowska, Filipina

Polish

Warsaw, January 1, 1800 — Warsaw, November 11, 1886

Filipina Brzezińska-Szymanowska was a composer and amateur pianist. Maria

Szymanowska, her sister-in-law, greatly influenced her playing. Brzezińska-

Szymanowska composed salon piano pieces such as mazurkas, waltzes and

nocturnes as well as programmatic music.

Carreño, Teresa

Venezuelan

Caracas, Venezuela, December 22, 1853 — New York, June 12, 1917

Teresa Carreño was a pianist, composer and singer. Both her grandfather and

father were musicians, and she received her early musical training with the latter.

In 1862, the family moved to New York City, where Carreño made her debut

when she was eight years old. She also lived in Paris and Boston, and concertized

with great acclaim in Europe, Australia, Africa, South America and in the United

States. She championed the works of American composers, particularly the music

of Edward MacDowell. Carreño also appeared on occasion as an opera singer.

She composed about 80 works including the Marche triomphale op. 8, Ballade

op. 15 and Vals Gayo op. 38. Carreño recorded a number of piano rolls for Welte-

Mignon and Duo-Art in 1905 and 1914, respectively. She married four times: the

violinist Emile Sauret, the baritone Giovanni Tagliapietra, and later his brother

Arturo Tagliapietra, and the pianist Eugen d´Albert. Among the pallbearers at her

funeral were Paderewski, Hutcheson and Elman.

Cibbini-Kozeluch, Catherina

Austrian

Vienna, February 20, 1785 — Zakupy, near eska Lipa, August 12, 1858

Catherina Cibbini-Kozeluch was of Bohemian descent. She was the daughter of

the celebrated pianist and composer Leopold Kozeluch, who was her first music

teacher. Her circle of friends included Beethoven, Moscheles, Vorisek, Chopin

and the Schumanns. She married the lawyer Anton Cibbini, adding since then his

last name to hers. In 1825, Cibbini-Kozeluch abandoned the concert stage after

she became chaperon to the Empress Carolina Augusta. Her piano compositions

include Divertissements brilliants op. 3, Introduction and variations op. 5 and the

Six Waltzes op. 6. She was active as an opponent to Metternich during the Vienna

uprising of 1848.

Clementi, Muzio

Italo-English

Rome, January 23, 1752 — Evesham, Worcester, March 10, 1832

Muzio Clementi was a harpsichord and keyboard player, composer, teacher and

empresario. Popularly known as the “father of the pianoforte”, his influence on

subsequent generations of pianists, piano composers, publishing and

manufacturing firms is undisputed. Clementi counted among his students such

distinguished pianists as Ludwig Berger, Carl Czerny, John Field and Frédéric

Kalkbrenner. His pedagogical works Introduction to the Art of Playing the

Pianoforte (1801) and Gradus ad Parnassum (1817, 1819, 1826) became of

frequent use for pianists all over the world. In his teens, Clementi´s talent drew

the attention of an Englishman named Peter Beckford, who in his own words

“bought Clementi of his father for seven years”. Clementi spent all that time near

Dorset, England, immersed in studying music and practicing the harpsichord.

After this period, he moved to London where he became a celebrity as composer,

teacher, performer, manufacturer and publisher. He composed over 100 keyboard

piano and numerous other pieces. Clementi signed a contract with Beethoven to

publish a few of the German composer´s works. He is buried at the cloisters of

Westminster Abbey in London.

[See the Muzio Clementi Tradition]

Cramer, Johann Baptist

German

Mannheim, February 24, 1771 — London, April 16, 1858

Cramer was a pianist, composer, teacher and publisher. He was a famous piano

virtuoso in the 19th century and his works were crucial in developing a particular

compositional writing for the piano. Although he was born in Germany, his family

moved to England when he was three years old, and he spent there most of his

life, with eventual concert tours throughout Europe. He was admired by

Beethoven and Schumann and established relationships with many of the most

renowned musicians of his day, including Haydn, Hummel, Dussek, Weber,

Kalkbrenner, Cherubini, Ries, Czerny, Moscheles, Mendelssohn, Liszt and

Berlioz. Cramer contributed to the introduction of Beethoven´s sonatas to English

audiences. He founded several publishing businesses such as Cramer & Keys and

the Cramer, J.B. & co. ltd. He produced a number of pedagogical works of

importance, particularly the Studio per il pianoforte, comprised of 84 studies and

used for Beethoven to teach his nephew Carl, the Instructions for the Pianoforte,

and the New Practical School op. 100. Cramer also composed numerous sonatas,

nine piano concertos and an extensive collection of shorter pieces such as

capriccios, dances, divertimentos, rondos, impromptus, variations and nocturnes.

Czerny, Carl

Austrian

Vienna, February 21, 1791 — Vienna, July 15, 1857

Carl Czerny was a pianist, composer, teacher, theorist and historian. He is a

fundamental figure in the history of the piano. Czerny´s most famous students

were Franz Liszt, Theodor Leschetizky and Theodor Kullak. His early musical

instruction was supervised by his father Wenzel Czerny, who was a pianist,

organist, oboist and singer. At the age of ten, he began studies with Beethoven

whose lessons, several times a week, employed C.P.E. Bach´s Essay. Czerny

proofread many of Beethoven´s works and was admired for the interpretations of

the master´s works, all of which he apparently could play from memory. He was

not interested in becoming a touring virtuoso and focused on teaching and

composing instead. He taught 12 hours a day, charged high fees and amassed a

fortune by the end of his life. His numerous compositions include studies,

exercises, sonatas, sonatinas and even a Concerto for four hands. Of a great

influence are his technical studies such as the opp. 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 636,

and The Art of Finger Dexterity op. 740. Czerny was in close terms with Chopin

and with his pupil Liszt, who invited him to collaborate in his Hexaméron

variations. Czerny published an autobiography in 1842 titled Erinnerungen aus

meinem Leben.

[See the Carl Czerny Tradition]

Dubuque, Alexander

Russian

Moscow, March 3, 1812 — Moscow, January 8, 1898

Alexander Dubuque was a pianist, composer and teacher. He probably was of

French descent. Dubuque was one of the most influential teachers in Russia,

carrying John Field´s piano tradition into the second half of the nineteenth and

early twentieth centuries, particularly through his student Nikolay Zverev. He

taught at the Moscow Conservatory between 1866 and 1872. Dubuque published

a book on piano technique and Reminiscences of Field. He composed a handful of

piano pieces such as Album pour les enfants, 3 études dans le style fugue opp. 95-

97 and Le rossignol d´Alabieff.

[See the Alexander Dubuque Tradition]

Dussek, Jan Ladislav

Bohemian

Caslav, Czech Republic, February 12, 1760 — Saint Germain-en-Laye or Paris,

France, March 20, 1812

Jan Ladislav Dussek was a pianist and composer. He was one of the early touring

concert pianists. His musical compositions were exceptionally beloved during his

lifetime and his works considerably influenced the development of the romantic

piano style. According to Vaclav Jan Krtitel Tomasek, Dussek was the first pianist

to play showing his profile to the audience. During the French Revolution, he fled

to England where he remained for 11 years and appeared in two concerts with

Haydn. Dussek married Sophia Corri, a famous singer, pianist and harpist and got

involved in a music publishing company with his father-in-law (Corri, Dussek &

Co.). Dussek persuaded Broadwood to extend the piano range from 5 to 6 octaves.

Later, when the publishing firm was dissolved, Dussek fled to Hamburg and likely

never saw his wife and daughter again. At the end of his life, he became obese, an

alcoholic and died of gout.

Fago, Lorenzo

Italian

Naples, August 13, 1704 — Naples, April 30, 1793

Lorenzo Fago was a teacher and composer. He was born into a family of Italian

musicians, active in Naples. He was secondo maestro and primo maestro at the

Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini in Naples. His compositions are mostly for

the church and cantatas.

Fauré, Gabriel

French

Pamiers, Ariege, May 12, 1845 — Paris, November 4, 1924

Gabriel Fauré was a composer, organist, pianist, teacher and critic. He was one of

the most influential French composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries,

writing in a compositional style that evolved greatly over the course of a few

decades. As a child, Fauré spent 11 years at the École Niedermeyer, a religious

boarding school, whose curriculum of studies had a lasting impact on Fauré´s

style. One of his teachers at the École was Saint-Saëns. Fauré held several

positions of assistant organist in Rennes and Paris, including Saint Sulpice and the

Madeleine. He was director of the Paris Conservatoire and professor of

composition. Ravel, Enescu and Nadia Boulanger were among his students. In

1870, during the Franco-Prussian war, he joined the army and participated in the

siege of Paris. His circle of friends included d´Indy, Lalo, Duparc and Chabrier,

with whom he founded the Société Nationale de Musique in 1871. He also met

Liszt in Weimar. For a time, Fauré was engaged to Pauline Viardot´s daughter,

but the relationship fell apart and he ended up marrying Marie Fremiet in 1883,

the daughter of a respected sculptor. Fauré´s piano output includes works such as

the Fantaisie op. 11, for piano and orchestra, Trois Romances sans Paroles,

nocturnes, impromptus, barcarolles, preludes and the Théme et variations. Fauré

revised all the piano works of Schumann for Durant and wrote cadenzas for

Mozart and Beethoven concertos. He made a few piano roll recordings for

Hupfeld and Welte-Mignon between 1904 and 1913. By the end of his life, Fauré

suffered of a poor health, with an increasing deafness, sclerosis and lack of

breathing.

Field, John

Irish

Dublin, ?July 26, 1782, bap. 5 September — Moscow, January 23, 1837

John Field was a pianist and composer. His pianism had a tremendous influence

on many pianists, and particularly had an impact on the development of the

Russian school of piano playing. He was the son of a professional violinist and

received his first music lessons from his grandfather, also named John Field, who

was a professional organist. In 1793, his family moved to London where Field

became Clementi´s student. Subsequently, Field also collaborated with the Italian

composer by performing on Clementi´s manufactured pianos and showcasing the

qualities of the instruments. Furthermore, in 1802 Field accompanied Clementi to

Russia, where he was to remain for most of his life. He met Hummel and

performed the duet Sonata op. 92 with him. His lifestyle of alcohol consumption

and smoking likely deteriorated his health. He contracted rectal cancer. His piano

compositions exerted an important influence on the Romantic piano style. His

piano output is extensive and includes 7 piano concertos, 16 nocturnes, 4 fantasies,

rondos, romances, Variations fa lal la and Chanson russe varié. In 1961, Cecil

Hopkinson [H] introduced a catalogue of the works of John Field.

[See the John Field Tradition]

Gerke, Anton Avgustovich

Russian

Pulin, Zhitomir, now Ukraine, July 28, 1812 — Krelye, Novgorod, July 24, 1870

Anton Gerke was a pianist, teacher and composer. He was the son of the Polish

violinist Avgust Herke. Gerke was acquainted with Liszt, Thalberg and Clara

Schumann. He settled in Saint Petersburg in 1831 and became court pianist. He

helped to create the Russian Music Society and taught at the St. Petersburg

Conservatory between 1862 and 1870.

Glinka Mikhail

Russian

Novospasskoye, near Yelnya, Smolensk district, June 1, 1804 — Berlin, February 15,

1857

Mikhail Glinka was a composer. He is regarded the father of Russian music and a

forerunner to the next generations of composers including Rimsky-Korsakov,

Borodin and Tchaikovsky. Glinka´s most famous operas, A Life for the Tsar and

Ruslan and Lyudmila, became milestones in music history. Glinka was born into

a noble family and had a broad education as a child. From 1824 to 1828, he worked

in the Board of Communications as a civil servant. Subsequently, he travelled to

Italy where he stayed for three years in order to cure his health ailments. In Italy,

he met Donizetti, Bellini and Mendelssohn. He also lived for several periods of

time in Berlin, Warsaw, Paris, where he met Berlioz, Auber and Hugo, and in

Spain, a country which made a profound impact on him and his music. Glinka

composed a number of piano pieces including sets of variations based on themes

by Cherubini and Donizetti, Cotillon, Nouvelles quadrilles françaises, Nouvelle

Contredanses, Capriccio on Russian themes and several mazurkas.

Gottschalk, Louis Moreau

American

New Orleans, May 8, 1829 — Tijuca, Brazil, December 18, 1869

Louis Moreau Gottschalk was a pianist and one of the most relevant American

composers of the 19th century. He was recognized as a forerunner of the ragtime.

His German-Jewish father was born in London and his mother had left Haiti for

Louisiana during the 1790s. At the age of 11, Gottschalk travelled to France to

study music. In 1845, Chopin congratulated the young pianist after a recital at the

Salle Pleyel in Paris. Gottschalk concertized in Europe, became an idol in Spain

under the support of Isabella II, and toured extensively in North America, Canada,

Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Antilles. After he was forced to leave the USA due to

a scandalous affair with a student, he travelled to South America where he

continued to perform and had a profound influence on music education and

Classical music in several countries. In 1869, he settled in Rio de Janeiro, and

organized the “monster concerts” featuring over 650 performers. His vast piano

output consists of Classical and popular works including the Souvenirs

d´Andalousie, La jota aragonesa, Le banjo, Last Hope, Souvenir de Puerto Rico,

Bamboula, Le bananier and the Grande Tarantelle for piano and orchestra.

Pianists John Kirkpatrick, Jeanne Behrend and Eugene List have championed

Gottschalk´s piano works and contributed to increase an interest in his music.

Greef, Arthur de

Belgian

Leuven, October 10, 1862 — Brussels, August 29, 1940

Arthur de Greef was a pianist and composer. He was elected member of the

Belgian Royal Academy in 1925. De Greef toured extensively in Europe and

mastered a vast repertory. In 1892, he offered a series of recitals in Paris

performing works from the history of piano music. He was a champion of Grieg´s

Piano Concerto and was regarded its best interpreter by the composer. De Greef

wrote two piano concertos and a handful of miniature pieces.

Hallé, Sir Charles

English

Hagen, Westphalia, April 11, 1819 — Manchester, October 25, 1895

Sir Charles Hallé was a pianist, conductor and teacher. His initial name was Carl

Halle, but he changed it to Charles Hallé to facilitate its pronunciation in England

and France. In 1836, he travelled to Paris with the intention of becoming

Kalkbrenner´s pupil, but he studied with George Osborne instead. He met Chopin,

Liszt, Berlioz and Wagner and introduced Beethoven sonatas to Parisian

audiences, being the first pianist to perform the complete series in Paris and in

London. Chappell published his edition of the 32 sonatas. In 1848, Hallé settled

in London where he became active and involved in the city´s musical life. In 1893,

he was appointed director and professor at the newly established Royal

Manchester College of Music. His second wife was the renowned violinist Wilma

Norman-Neruda, with whom he frequently performed in England, Australia and

South Africa. Hallé died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage.

Henselt, Adolf von

German

Schwabach, Bavaria, May 9, 1814 — Bad Warmbrunn, Silesia, now Cieplice Slaskie-

Zdroj, Poland, October 10, 1889

Adolf von Henselt was a pianist, composer and teacher. He was the son of a cotton

manufacturer who moved with his family to Munich in 1817. In the mid-1830s,

Henselt went into isolation in order to develop his piano technique and, as a

consequence, he overstrained his muscles. He met Chopin and was in close

contact with Robert and Clara Schumann and with Liszt. In 1838, Henselt

travelled to Saint Petersburg, where he taught at the Conservatory and became a

celebrated teacher. He had an extraordinary hand span and was able to reach an

11th on the piano. Henselt composed a number of piano works such as the

Variations de concert, Piano concerto op. 16, Chant tu printemps, Donizetti

variations op. 1, Nocturnes op. 6 and Ballade op. 31. Particularly noteworthy are

his 24 études opp. 2 and 5. The opus numbers do not generally correspond to the

chronological order of publication due to the fact that Henselt published his works

with at least 30 publishing firms. Henselt edited the works of about 40 composers,

frequently adding extra ornamentation.

Hüllmandel, Nicolas-Joseph

Alsatian

Strasbourg, May 23, 1756 — London, December 19, 1823

Nicolas-Joseph Hüllmandel was harpsichord player and composer. He conceived

his entire output for either the harpsichord or the piano, occasionally being

accompanied by the violin. He wrote an article entitled Clavecin for the

Encyclopédie méthodique of Diderot and D´Alambert. Hüllmandel was among the

first composers to favor the piano as his works show. Although François-Joseph

Fétis recounted that Hüllmandel studied with C.P.E. Bach, there is no evidence to

support this theory.

Hummel, Johann Nepomuk

Austrian

Pressburg, now Bratislava, November 14, 1778 — Weimar, October 17, 1837

Johann Nepomuk Hummel was a pianist and composer. He was one of the most

famous pianists and composers of his time and was also active as a conductor and

teacher. Hummel was the son of a string player and conductor. He was musically

precocious since the age of three. A pupil of Mozart, Hummel lived in the

composer´s household where he met da Ponte, Haydn and other personalities of

Vienna. He also studied with Albrechtsberger and Salieri. In 1788, he went on an

extended concert tour that took him all over Europe during the next five years. In

1804, he succeeded Haydn at Esterházy and conducted the premiere of Haydn´s

The Creation at the palace in Eisenstadt. In 1818, he was appointed grand-ducal

Kapellmeister at Weimar, a post he held until his death. He met and had a

profound impact on Chopin, Liszt and Schubert, who had dedicated Hummel his

last three piano sonatas until Diabelli posthumously changed the dedicatory to

Schumann. Hummel was a prolific composer in virtually all genres of the time

and wrote piano concertos, variations, sonatas, preludes, bagatelles, rondos and

numerous other pieces, including successful piano arrangements of orchestral

works. His Complete Theoretical and Practical Course of Instructions on the Art

of Playing the Piano Forte enjoyed a tremendous success and was published

almost at the same time in Germany, England and France, and sold thousands of

copies. Hummel maintained an unsettling but lasting friendship with Beethoven,

was one of the pallbearers at his funeral and improvised at the Beethoven´s

memorial concert upon the composer´s request. Hummel married the singer

Elisabeth Röckel. One of their sons, Eduard, became a pianist.

[See the Johann Nepomuk Hummel Tradition]

Hymen Cowen, Sir Frederic

English

Kingston, Jamaica, January 29, 1852 — London, October 6, 1935

Sir Frederic Hymen Cowen was a pianist, conductor and composer. Born in

Jamaica, he was brought to England in 1856. At the age of six, he published a

waltz and, two years after, an operetta. Hymen Cowen performed with such

prominent figures as Joachim, Pezze and with the singer Trebelli. He met Liszt,

Brahms, Hanslick and Hans Richter. Although Hymen Cowen concertized for a

time as a piano virtuoso, he was most successful as an orchestra conductor, leading

such as orchestras as the Hallé Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic and Scottish

Orchestra. Hymen Cowen published monograph books on Haydn, Mendelssohn,

Mozart and Rossini as well as his autobiography My Art and My Friends. His

piano oeuvre includes a piano concerto and a Concertstück for piano and

orchestra, Minna-Waltz, three Valses caprices, Rondo a la Turque, Fantasy on

The Magic Flute and La coquette.

Kalkbrenner, Frédéric

French

early November 1785 — Enghien-les-Bains, June 10, 1849

Frédéric Kalkbrenner was a pianist, teacher and composer. He was born en route

from Kassel to Berlin. His father, Christian Kalkbrenner, gave him his first music

lessons. Subsequently, Kalkbrenner studied at the Paris Conservatory and

obtained the premier prix in piano and harmony. Between 1803 and 1804,

Kalkbrenner travelled to Vienna where he met Haydn, who offered him guidance,

and also made the acquaintance of Clementi. In 1814, Kalkbrenner settled in

England, where he achieved fame as a pianist, teacher and composer. Ten years

after, he returned to Paris and found his place among the most prominent virtuosos

of his day, not only in France but all over Europe, attaining an international career

without precedent. Kalkbrenner invited Chopin to study with him, but the Polish

composer declined the offer. However, the two remained in good terms and

Chopin dedicated his Concerto in E minor op. 11 to Kalkbrenner. As a composer,

Kalkbrenner focused mostly on the piano. He produced piano concertos, 13

sonatas, Élégie harmonique op. 36, Caprice op. 104, and a number of other pieces

such as airs variés, romances, rondeaux and waltzes. Ha also wrote pedagogical

pieces including the 24 études dans tous les tons opp. 20 and 88, 12 études

préparatoires, 25 grandes études de style et de perfectionnement, and the

influential Méthode pour apprendre le piano-forte à l´aide du guide-mains. He

invented the hand-guide mechanism with the aim of helping the pianist avoid any

arm movement and, as a consequence, develop the maximum finger independence

possible.

[See the Frédéric Kalkbrenner Tradition]

Klengel, Auguste Alexander

German

Dresden, June 29, 1783 — Dresden, November 22, 1852.

Auguste Klengel was a pianist, composer and organist. He was admired by Fétis,

Moscheles and Chopin. A pupil of Clementi since 1803, Klengel travelled with

him to London, Paris, Italy and Saint Petersburg, where he stayed until 1811. He

was first organist at the Dresden Hofkapelle. Klengel took an active role in the

Bach revival and edited the Well-tempered clavier. He produced piano concertos

and solo piano works.

Kozeluch, Leopold

Bohemian

Velvary, June 26, 1747 — Vienna, May 7, 1818

Leopold Kozeluch was a composer, pianist, teacher and publisher. He was one of

the most prominent ambassadors of Czech music in Vienna during the last quarter

of the 18th century. He championed the use of the fortepiano instead of the

harpsichord. In 1778, Kozeluch settled in Vienna where he became a renowned

pianist, teacher and composer. A few years after, his growing reputation and

successful professional career allowed him to reject the position as court organist

to the Archbishop of Salzburg, succeeding Mozart. In 1792, he was appointed

Kammer Kapellmeister and Hofmusik Compositor. Kozeluch published his

compositions through his own publishing company. His daughter Catharina

Cibbini-Kozeluch was a well-established pianist and composer in Vienna during

the early 19th century. Kozeluch composed dozens of sonatas and concertos for

either the harpsichord of the piano, and other solo compositions including

minuets, dances and caprices.

Ladurner, Ignace Antoine

French

Aldein, near Bolzano, August 1, 1766 — Villain, near Massy, March 4, 1839

Igance Ladurener was a pianist and composer. He was of Austrian descent.

Ladurner built a reputation as a teacher in Paris since he arrived in 1788 and was

professor at the Paris Conservatoire since 1797 until 1802. A few years before his

death, Ladurner was immobilized by paralysis. His son Adolphe Ladurner was a

known painter.

Lanza, Francesco

Italian

Naples, 1783 — Naples, 1862

Francesco Lanza was a pianist, composer and teacher. He was the son of composer

and teacher Giuseppe Lanza. They moved to London when Francesco was nine

years old. In the English capital, he met Clementi and studied with him. Lanza

achieved reputation in London as a pianist and composer. He returned to Naples

and taught many generations of pianists at the conservatory and is recognized as

the father of the Neapolitan School of piano playing. In 1804, he offered one of

the first public piano recitals in Naples. Lanza composed only piano works

including two concertos, fantasias on opera tunes, two sonatas and a piano

method.

[See the Francesco Lanza Tradition]

Levant, Oscar

American

Pittsburgh, December 27, 1906 — Beverly Hills, August 14, 1972

Oscar Levant was a pianist, composer and writer. He performed with the major

American orchestras and also achieved recognition as a jazz pianist. As a

composer, he produced a piano concerto, popular songs, works for the Broadway

stage and film music, including Street Girl and Tanned Legs. He appeared both as

actor and musician in a number of films and was the pianist in An American in

Paris. He was a friend of George Gershwin and a renowned interpreter of his

music. Levant wrote an autobiography published in 3 volumes.

Lillo, Giuseppe

Italian

Galatina, Lecce, February 26, 1814 — Naples, February 4, 1863

Giuseppe Lillo was a popular composer of theatre works in Naples. He received

his first musical instruction from his father, the conductor Giosuè Lillo. He studied

piano with Francesco Lanza. Lillo co-directed the Saint Carlo school and also

taught at the Naples Conservatory. His piano compositions include the Valtz

variato op. 3 and Mes loisirs op. 11.

Liszt, Franz

Hungarian

Raiding, (in Hungarian: Doborjan), October 22, 1811 — Bayreuth, July 31, 1886

Pianist, conductor, teacher and composer, he is indisputably one of the greatest

piano virtuosi of all time and a pioneer in different areas: he is the father of modern

piano technique, inventor of the piano recital, the masterclass and of novel

concepts in orchestral conducting. He performed complete concerts by memory,

performed works from the entire history of the keyboard literature and always

opened the lid of the piano towards the audience. His compositions envisioned

new harmonic paths which greatly influenced Debussy, Ravel or Scriabin. Born

in the Burgenland, a region which nowadays belongs to Austria, located at about

100 kms from Vienna, Liszt´s native tongue was German and he never became

fluent or comfortable in Hungarian. His father, Adam, an amateur musician who

worked for a long time at the Esterházy estates and met Joseph Haydn, gave him

his first music lessons. During his travels, Liszt met Beethoven, Brahms, Anton

Rubinstein, Chopin, Schumann, Berlioz, Alkan, Hiller, Grieg and many other

contemporary figures. A student of Czerny, Salieri, Reicha and Ferdinando Paer,

he went on extended concert tours in Europe, England, Scotland, Russia, Turkey,

Spain and Portugal, playing numerous and populated recitals such as the one

offered at La Scala in Milan for 3000 people. At the age of 35, he decided to

abandon the stage and devote his time to mostly compose, teach and doing a great

deal of travelling, especially to Weimar, Rome and Budapest. Always interested

in the live of the saints, religion and spiritual life, he received the four minor

Catholic orders in July 1865. He lived at the Vatican for a time and became friends

with Pope Pius IX. His compositional output for piano is enormous. His large-

scale works include the Sonata in B minor, the Dante Sonata and the piano

concertos. He went beyond the Romantic concept of the étude with the 12

Transcendental Études, 6 Paganini Études or the several Études de Concert, and

wrote numerous Hungarian Rhapsodies. He produced numerous sets of pieces

including the Années de Pèlerinage, Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses, as well

as the Ballades and the Mephisto Waltzes. Liszt also made numerous

transcriptions of Bach´s works, Schubert lieder and Beethoven symphonies and

paraphrases on operatic themes such as Rigoletto, Don Juan and Norma. In the

late pieces, he explored new harmonic devices, the exploitation of the limits of

tonality and atmospheric effects in Nuages Gris, La Lugubre Gondola, Unstern!

and Bagatelle sans tonalité. He produced editions of the Beethoven complete

sonatas, Field´s nocturnes, Chopin´s complete works, and of pieces by Schubert

and Weber. The most authoritative catalogue of Liszt´s works was compiled by

British composer Humphrey Searle, hence the use of the letter “S” following the

titles of Liszt´s works. Liszt had three children, two of them died during his

lifetime and his daughter Cosima was married to Bülow before she left him for

Richard Wagner. By the end of his life, Liszt suffered from dropsy, fevers and

cataracts. He likely died of heart infraction at the age of 74.

[See the Franz Liszt Tradition]

Martini, Padre Giovanni Battista

Italian

Bologna, April 24, 1706 — Bologna, August 3, 1784

Padre Martini was one of the most influential and renowned musicians of the 18th

century. Ordained a priest in 1729, he taught counterpoint to numerous pupils who

became famous composers, including J.C. Bach, Mozart, Grétry and Jommelli.

According to historian Charles Burney, Martini gathered a colossal library of

approximately 17,000 volumes. He maintained correspondence with such

prominent figures as Agricola, Locatelli, Marpurg, Metastasio, Quantz and

Rameau. Martini composed a number of sonatas and concertos for the keyboard,

among other works.

Mayer, Charles

German

Konigsberg, now Kaliningrad, March 21, 1799 — Dresden, July 2, 1862

Charles Mayer was a pianist and composer. His father, a clarinet player, moved

with his family to Saint Petersburg when Mayer was still an infant. He concertized

extensively in Poland, Germany, France, Holland, Austria, Scandinavia and

Russia. When Adolph von Henselt´s fame skyrocketed in Russia, Mayer moved

to Dresden where he remained until he died. He was a renowned teacher and,

purportedly, he had over 800 students. As a composer, he produced such works as

the 6 Études op. 55, Souvenir de Naples op. 128, La Dernière rose op. 169 or the

Novelletten opp. 179 and 183. His opus numbers are about 350. Karl Klindworth

falsely included Mayer´s F# minor mazurka in his edition of Chopin´s works.

de Montgeroult, Hélène-Antoinette-Marie de Nervo

French

Lyons, March 2, 1764 — Florence, May 20, 1836

Hélène de Montgeroult was a pianist and teacher. In 1795, she was appointed

professor of the première classe at the recently founded Paris Conservatoire.

Montgeroult wrote three piano sonatas and later a Complete Course for the

Teaching of the Piano in three volumes, admired by Marmontel. She died in Italy

and is buried in Florence.

Mussorgsky, Modest

Russian

Karevo, Pskov district, March 21, 1839 — Saint Petersburg, March 28, 1881

Modest Mussorgsky was a composer. He was born into a wealthy family who

owned a property in the countryside, south of Saint Petersburg. Mussorgsky could

improvise at the piano before he had any formal music lessons. He studied

composition with Balakirev and became part of his circle known as the Mighty

Handful, alongside with Borodin, Cui and Rimsky-Korsakov. In January 1869,

Mussorgsky was appointed assistant chief of the Forestry Department of the

Ministry of State Property, a position that consumed a substantial amount of his

time and kept him away from composing. He maintained this job until 1878.

Mussorgsky produced a handful of piano compositions such as two scherzos,

Impromptu passionné, Intermezzo in modo classico, From Memories of

Childhood and Au village, among others. His most outstanding and original

composition was Pictures at an Exhibition, which was orchestrated by Ravel and

Ashkenazy, among many others. Mussorgsky suffered from alcoholism during

several periods of his life. His last years were spent in loneliness and poverty,

leaving unfinished some of his potentially most noteworthy compositions.

Napoleão Dos Santos, Arturo

Portuguese

Oporto, March 6, 1843 — Rio de Janeiro, May 12, 1925

Arturo Napoleão was a pianist, composer, teacher and publisher. He was a child

prodigy and concertized in Europe, Brazil and the United States. Napoleão was

admired by Liszt. He settled in Rio de Janeiro in 1866, where he was active as a

pianist, teacher and music publisher, having a significant repercussion in

Brazilian´s cultural life. Napoleão contributed to the foundation of the Sociedade

de Concertos Clássicos. He composed piano études based on Cramer´s studies.

Novaës, Guiomar

Brazilian

Sao Joao da Boa Vista, Sao Paulo, February 28, 1895 — Sao Paulo, March 7, 1979

Guiomar Novaës was pianist. She studied both in Brazil and in France, receiving

the premier prix at the Paris Conservatory in 1911. In 1922, she married civil

engineer Octavio Pinto, who was also a pianist and composer. Novaës made piano

rolls and recordings for Victor and Vox, including Chopin´s F minor Concerto

and Schumann´s Carnaval. She had a stroke in January 1979 and died shortly

after.

Osborne, George-Alexander

Irish

Limerick, September 24, 1806 — London, November 16, 1893

George Osborne was a pianist and composer. He was the son of an organist.

Osborne studied theology and was initially inclined to pursue a religious life.

Before studying with Pixis and Kalkbrenner in Paris, he mainly taught himself

how to play the piano. He achieved recognition in London, where he settled in

1843, and in Paris, where he became part of the circle of Chopin, Bériot and

Berlioz. Osborne composed numerous fantasies and transcriptions, mainly based

on opera tunes by Auber, Rossini, Donizetti and Verdi. Osborne was the director

of the Philharmonic Society and of the Royal Academy of Music, both in London.

His Musical Coincidences and Reminiscences, published in 1882-3, offer a

remarkable view of the lives of his contemporaries.

Palumbo, Constantino

Italian

Torre Annunziata, November 30, 1843 — Naples, January 16, 1928

Constantino Palumbo was a pianist and composer. He performed at the Paris

Universal Exhibition of 1867 where he met Rossini, Henri Herz and Francis

Planté. He appeared in concert with Sigismond Thalberg in Naples, where

Paulmbo was appointed professor of piano at the Conservatory in 1873. He had

an important influence on several generations of young pianists. As a composer,

he wrote operas and piano works including the Toccata op. 21, Sonata op. 24,

Suite Romantica and a collection of nocturnes, fantasies, and other pieces.

Petri, Egon

Dutch-German-American

Hanover, March 23, 1881 — Berkeley, California, May 27, 1962

Egon Petri was a pianist and teacher. His father played in the Leipzig Gewandhaus

Orchestra and taught him the violin when Petri was 5 years old. Petri also learned

the organ and the horn. He became one of the most respected of Busoni´s pupils,

and helped the Italian master with the corrections of operas and piano works and

with the edition of Bach´s keyboard works. He had an active teaching career and

held positions at the Royal Manchester College of Music, Hochschule für Musik

in Berlin, Cornell University, Mills College and San Francisco Conservatory. He

was naturalized American in 1955. Petri made remarkable recordings including

the works of his teacher Busoni. He was fluent in 6 languages.

[See the Egon Petri Tradition]

Philipp, Isidore

Hungarian-French

Budapest, Hungary, September 2, 1863 — Paris, France, February 20, 1958

Isidore Philipp was a pianist, composer and teacher. He was born in Hungary.

Philipp was professor of Piano at the Paris Conservatory and at the American

Conservatory of Fontainebleau. During the Nazi invasion of 1940, he fled to the

United States. He became a renowned teacher, famous for his capacity to approach

and solve any pianistic issue. He published numerous collections of piano

exercises and studies, including the Ecole du Mécanisme, Exercices d´extension

pour les doigts and Exercices de velocité, and works such as Valse-caprices and

concert studies. The Isidore Philipp Archive was established in 1977 at the

University of Louisville and is considered the largest Isidore Philipp collection.

[See the Isidore Philipp Tradition]

Pinsuti, Ciro

Italian

Sinalunga, May 9, 1829 — Florence, March 10, 1888

Ciro Pinsuti was a composer, pianist and singing teacher. He studied composition

with Rossini in Bologna and taught piano at the Liceo Musicale. In 1848, he

moved to London where he became a renowned accompanist and vocal coach,

and taught such opera singers as Grissi and Ronconi. Pinsuti also taught at the

Royal Academy of Music. He wrote a few piano works and over 250 many songs,

which became widely popular.

Pleyel, Marie Denise Moke

French

Paris, September 4, 1811 — St Josse-ten-Noode, near Brussels, March 30, 1875

Mariel Pleyel was a pianist, teacher and composer. When she was 19 years old,

she taught at a school in Paris where Ferdinand Hiller and Hector Berlioz also

were among the faculty. She got engaged to Berlioz, but a few months after she

married composer and pianist Camille Pleyel, whom she ended up divorcing in

1835. She was the dedicatee of Chopin´s Nocturnes op. 9, Kalkbrenner´s

Fantaisie et variations sur une mazourka de Chopin op. 120 and Liszt´s

Réminiscences de Norma. Marie Pleyel as admired by Mendelssohn and Liszt,

with whom she performed four-hand duets. She concertized in Bonn, Leipzig,

Vienna, Saint Petersburg, Paris and London. She taught at the Brussels

Conservatory between 1848 and 1872 and, according to Fétis, she laid the

foundation of the Belgian school of piano playing. Pleyel wrote some piano works

including the Rondo parisien pour piano op. 1 and the Fantasia on motifs from

Weber´s Preciosa.

Pradher, Louis

French

Paris, December 16, 1782 — Gray, October 19, 1843

Louis Pradher was a pianist, composer and teacher. He taught at the Paris

Conservatory and was the director of the Toulouse Conservatoire from 1840 to

1841. Pradher composed some operas and piano music, including a concerto,

sonatas and works for two pianos. He was a famed teacher and insisted on the

independence of the fingers as a fundamental aspect of piano technique. Pradher

was the piano teacher of the princesses at the court of Louis XVIII and Charles X.

[See the Louis Pradher Tradition]

Rubinstein, Anton

Russian

Vikhvatintsi, Ukraine, November 16 or 28, 1829 — Peterhof, now Petrodvoret,

November 8 or 20, 1894

Anton Rubinstein was a pianist, conductor, composer and teacher. He was a

colossus of the piano and was regarded an equal to Liszt. He had a tremendous

impact on Russian´s musical life and education that lasts until today, establishing

the pedagogical and interpretative principles of what came to be known as the

Russian school of pianism. His early piano instruction came from his mother.

Subsequently, he studied with Alexander Villoing who took Rubinstein on an

extended concert tour all over Europe. During this period, he met Chopin, Liszt,

Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer. In 1848, the Gran Duchess Yelena Pavlina took

interest in the young pianist and offered him lodging quarters in one of her palaces.

The duchess had him perform for the tsar´s family and, years after, she and

Rubinstein envisioned and planned together a revolution in musical education in

Russia. As a result, they founded the Russian Musical Society in 1859 and the

Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1862. Rubinstein embarked on several extended

concert tours including one in the USA with Wieniawski in which they played

over 215 recitals in a period of about 8 months. His repertoire was humongous, as

seen in the seven historical recitals he gave in Europe and Russia between 1885

and 1886, encompassing all the history of the piano literature. His piano output is

extensive, including five piano concertos, four piano sonatas, Tarantella, Six

Preludes, Suite and the famous Melody in F op. 3 no. 1.

[See the Anton Rubinstein Tradition]

Rubinstein, Nikolay

Russian

Moscow, June 2 or 14, 1835 — Paris, March 11 or 23, 1881

Nikolay Rubinstein was pianist, conductor and teacher. He was the brother of

Anton Rubinstein. He opened the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society

in 1859, which later became the Moscow Conservatory, with Tchaikovsky among

its teachers. Nikolay Rubinstein toured Russia as a child with Alexander Villoing

and also studied medicine at Moscow University in order to avoid enlisting in the

army. He was a superb pianist and teacher although, as did his brother, used to

yell at his students. He died of consumption in a hotel in Paris. Tchaikovsky

dedicated his Piano Trio in A minor to him.

[See the Nikolay Rubinstein Tradition]

Ruta, Gilda

Italian

Naples, October 13, 1856 — New York, October 27, 1932

Gilda Ruta was a pianist, composer and singer. She enjoyed a successful concert

career as an exponent of the Neapolitan school of pianism. She lived and taught

in New York. Her compositions include a Piano Concerto, Allegro Appassionato

and some chamber music works. Her father was Michele Ruta, director of the

Naples Conservatory, and her mother was English singer Emilia Sutton.

Ruta, Michele

Italian

Caserta, February 7, 1816 — Naples, 24 January 1896

Michele Ruta was a composer and pianist. He was director of the Naples

Conservatory. Among other compositions, Ruta composed operas and

pedagogical works. He was active as a writer and music critic and founded the

journal La musica in 1855. He married English singer Emilia Sutton. His daughter

was the pianist Gilda Ruta.

Saint-Saëns, Camille

French

Paris, October 9, 1835 — Algiers, December 16, 1921

Camille Saint-Saëns was a pianist, organist and composer. Hw was described by

Gounod as the “French Beethoven”. Saint-Saëns was a child prodigy and became

a virtuoso pianist and organist admired by Liszt, Gounod, Rossini and Berlioz.

His official debut took place at the Salle Pleyel at the age of ten performing from

memory Beethoven´s Third Piano Concerto and Mozart´s Piano Concerto K. 450,

for which he played a cadenza of his own. His concert tours took him to South

America, United States, East Asia, Canary Islands, Scandinavia, Africa and

Russia, where he met Tchaikovsky. His output covered all genres including a

dozen operas, five piano concertos, chamber music works and numerous other

brilliant pieces such as the etudes opp. 52, 111 and 135, the Suite and Vals

nonchalante. Saint-Saëns edited a number of works from the French harpsichord

repertoire and pieces by Liszt and Mozart. His broad interests included the French

classics, religion, Latin and Greek, mathematics and natural sciences.

Schröter, Johann Samuel

German

?Guben, c. 1752 — London, November 2, 1788

Johann Samuel Schröter was the first composer, who according to historian

Charles Burney, “brought to England the true art of treating” the piano. His piano

concertos opp. 3 and 5 are among the earliest written specifically for this

instrument. Mozart wrote cadenzas for three of them. After Johann Christian

Bach´s death, Schröter was appointed music master to the Queen Charlotte. He

ran off to Scotland with one of his students. Subsequently, he worked for the

Prince of Wales. Schröter died of lung disease. His widow Rebecca was a student

of Haydn in London.

Simonsen, Rudolph

Danish

Copenhagen, April 30, 1889 — Copenhagen, March 28, 1947

Rudolph Simonsen was a composer and pianist. He also received a law degree at

the University of Copenhagen. He was a teacher at the Copenhagen Conservatory

and succeeded Carl Nielsen as its director in 1931. His compositions include the

Piano Concerto of 1915.

Stamaty, Camille

Greco-French

Rome, March 13 or 23, 1811 — Paris, April 19, 1870

Camille Stamaty was a pianist, composer and teacher. He continued

Kalkbrenner´s tradition of piano playing in France. While he was deciding

between studying music or adventuring into business, he worked at the Prefecture

of the Seine. He made his debut at the Salle Pleyel in Paris in 1835, performing

Kalkbrenner´s Grand Duo in D op. 128 for two pianos, with the composer himself.

In 1862, he received the Chevalier of the Légion d´Honneur distinction. Stamaty

composed several piano works including the Grande Sonate op. 20, and the

Sicilienne dans le genre ancient. He also produced pedagogical works as the five-

volume L´ecole du pianist classique et modern and the 25 études pour piano op.

11, used by the Paris Conservatory as part of its teaching methods.

Stojowski, Zygmunt

Polish-American

Strzelce, May 14, 1869 — New York, November 5, 1946

Zygmunt Stojowski was a pianist, teacher and composer. He studied composition

with Zeleński and Delibes. After he concertized in Europe, he moved to the U.S.

in 1906, where he became head of the piano department at the New York Institute

of Musical Art and at the Von Ende School of Music. Stojowski became an

American citizen in 1938. His compositions include two piano concertos, Danses

humoresques op. 12, 2 Orientales op. 10 and Aspirations op. 39. His works were

performed by such piano virtuosos as Hofmann, Friedman and Grainger.

Stojowski also published numerous books on piano teaching.

Szymanowska [née Wołowska], Maria Agata

Polish

Warsaw, December 14, 1789 — Saint Petersburg, July 25, 1831

Maria Szymanowska was a pianist and composer. She greatly influenced Frédéric

Chopin. She toured in Europe with great success performing her works as well as

compositions of Hummel, Field, Klengel, Dussek, Ries and Herz, and appeared

frequently with such renowned musicians as Pierre Baillot and Giuditta Pasta. She

met Goethe, Hummel, Cherubini and Rossini. Szymanowska received the title of

First Pianist in Saint Petersburg, and often performed in private concerts for the

royalty. Her compositions include miniatures, mazurkas, marches, minuets,

waltzes and exercises such as the 20 exercices et preludes, 24 mazurkas, Nocturne

in B flat and Danse polonaise. According to the Grove Music Online,

Szymanowska “was the first Polish composer to explore the setting of ballads”.

Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilych

Russian

Kamsko-Votkinsk, Vyatka province, May 7, 1840 — Saint Petersburg, Nov 6, 1893

Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky was a composer, conductor and teacher. He was the son

of a mining engineer. By the age of six, he was able to read in French and German.

From 1852 to 1859, Tchaikovsky studied at the School of Jurisprudence. Upon

graduation, he worked for the Ministry of Justice. From 1862 to 1865, he attended

the newly established Saint Petersburg Conservatory, studying with Anton

Rubinstein. Tchaikovsky taught at the Moscow Conservatory between 1866 and

1878. In July 1877, Tchaikovsky married Antonina Ivanovna Milyukova. They

separated two months after, but never divorced. During the next six years, he

travelled extensively and spent long periods of time abroad. In 1888, Alexander

III awarded Tchaikovsky a lifetime pension.

He conducted the first performance of the Sixth Symphony on October 28, 1893,

and died a few days after, on November 6. Besides much speculation, the cause

of his death has never been clarified.

Tchaikovsky composed three piano concertos, a Concert Fantasia for piano and

orchestra, and a number of solo piano works including two sonatas, Scherzo á la

russe, three Chant sans paroles, Vals caprice, Les saisons, Dumka, Album for the

young, Douze morceaux, and numerous other pieces such as nocturnes,

impromptus, collections of morceaux, waltzes, caprices and mazurkas.

Tchaikovsky´s brother Modest wrote The Life of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a

crucial biography of the composer´s life.

Thalberg, Sigismond

German or Austrian

Paquis, near Geneva, January 8, 1812 — Posillipo, near Naples, April 27, 1871

Sigismond Thalberg was a pianist and composer. He was, next to Franz Liszt, the

greatest virtuoso of the mid-nineteenth century in Europe. He played almost

exclusively his own compositions, which were mainly fantasias based on opera

themes by Rossini, Meyerbeer, Donizetti and Verdi. Although he initially went to

Vienna to study for diplomatic service, he became a touring and successful pianist,

travelling all over Europe, Brazil, Havana and the United States, where he lived

and taught for a few years. His “three-hand effect” technique became very

popular. His didactic work L´art du chant appliqué au piano reveals Thalberg´s

ability to combine the brilliance of the execution with his preoccupation with

imbuing the bel canto into his playing. He married the daughter of Luigi Lablache,

an opera singer. He spent his last few years in a villa in Italy as a viticulturist.

[See the Sigismond Thalberg Tradition]

Villoing Alexander

Russian

Saint Petersburg, March 12, 1808 — Saint Petersburg, September 2, 1878

Alexander Villoing was the son of a French émigré. He became a professor at the

Saint Petersburg Conservatory. His most famous student was Anton Rubinstein,

with whom he toured throughout Europe. In 1863, he published the Klavierschule,

a method used at the Conservatory and translated into German and French. His

only published work is the Piano Concerto in C major.

[See the Alexander Villoing Tradition]

Zverev, Nikolai

Russian

Volokolamsk, March 25, 1833 — Moscow, October 12, 1893

Nikolai Zverev was one of the most influential teachers in pre-Soviet Russia. He

came from an aristocratic family and studied mathematics and physics at the

Moscow State University. After inheriting a large sum of money, he abandoned

his studies and moved to Saint Petersburg to become a civil servant. Subsequently,

he returned to Moscow to teach at the Conservatory upon Nikolay Rubinstein´s

invitation. Zverev taught many illustrious pianists including Rachmaninov,

Scriabin and Siloti. He never married.

[See the Nikolai Zverev Tradition]

© 2021, by Daniel Pereira